Gilbert Arenas Makes Brutal Prediction for Luka Doncic’s New-Look Lakers

The former NBA star offered a harsh assessment of the Los Angeles Lakers' revamped roster as the franchise begins a new era without LeBron James.

Mar 27, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts during the second half against the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Heading into the NBA offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers were determined to make some drastic changes and go all in on building the team around superstar guard Luka Doncic.

Along with moving on from future Hall of Famer LeBron James after eight seasons, the Lakers brass made some bold moves to officially begin the Luka Doncic era in Los Angeles. The team pulled off a sign-and-trade deal with the Utah Jazz for Walker Kessler and signed several free agents who were questionable additions to the squad.

Gilbert Arenas Wants Cheaper Lakers Tickets Due to New-Look Roster

Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas has never held back his thoughts on the Lakers, as he is an admitted fan of the storied franchise, having grown up in Los Angeles.

Arenas was asked on his show, Gil’s Arena, what he expects from the new-look Lakers heading into the 2026-27 NBA season, and sarcastically and comically said ticket prices need to come down due to what they’ll be putting on the basketball floor.

“Expect to get season tickets for real cheap this year,” Arenas said of the new-look Lakers. Them tickets need to go down. It’s like when it was like Nick Young, Socrates (Robert Sacre).”

That’s pretty harsh from Arenas, as he clearly expects this new-look squad built around Doncic to struggle and be nowhere near the team they were last year that made it to the second round of the NBA playoffs.

Gilbert Arenas Compares Luka Doncic to Chris Paul

Nov 16, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) looks to pass as San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul (3) defends during the first quarter at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Along with lobbying for cheaper Lakers tickets for the 2026-27 season because he doesn’t think the team will be very competitive, Arenas made an interesting comparison between Doncic and the recently retired Chris Paul.

"Luka has the same the same thing that Chris Paul has," Arenas said. "You just need to give them enough, and with the perfect pieces for their game, they can make it work. That's how Chris Paul was. Like if you ever looked at Chris Paul's teams, he's never had championship teams. … for the most part, he really made those teams look better than they were."

Lakers May Have Put the Right Pieces Around Luka Doncic

Apr 21, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka shows off the NBA scoring champion trophy, along with the player of the month award give to guard Luka Doncic (77) prior to game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the Houston Rockets at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Arenas might have a point, as Doncic has led some teams to successful seasons despite not having a ton of talent around him, which might be the case with the current Lakers squad.

It’s a testament to how good Doncic is as the face of a franchise, and that might be what longtime general manager Rob Pelinka and company had in mind when revamping this roster around the reigning NBA scoring champion.

The Lakers’ front office didn’t need to put superstar talent around Doncic, but simply the right pieces that complement the superstar’s game, which they may have accomplished, but only time will tell if that turns out to be the case.

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